An advanced anti-icing/de-icing system utilizing highly aligned carbon nanotube webs. Carbon.

Highly aligned CNT webs, with an areal density of 0.019 g/m 2 , were produced by direct drawing of CNT 'forests' grown by chemical vapor deposition, to form a conductive heating element. These were subsequently inserted between pre-cured layers of unidirectional carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) and the electrical and thermal conductivity of the combined system were assessed under different curing conditions. Control composites specimens, cured under high-pressure, demonstrated a higher fibre volume fraction, as well as higher electrical and thermal conductivities. With a single CNT 20-layer web interlayer added, the electrical conductivity increased by 25% when the CNT web alignment was perpendicular to that of the fibres, and by 15% when the CNT web alignment was parallel to the fibres. In addition, three types of CNT interlayer distribution were investigated. Through tailoring the pressure, carbon fibre layup and CNT interlayer, an efficient electro-thermal system was obtained which could be deployed as part of an ice-protection system on aircraft.

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Carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are promising materials for non-metallic pipe applications in the oil and gas industry owing to their high corrosion resistance, specific strength and stiffness. However, CFRP has poor gas barrier performance meaning that a liner has to be inserted. Graphene-based nanomaterials have been demonstrated to improve gas barrier properties in thermoplastic polymers, and thus, a CFRP–graphene hybrid composite could provide an alternative to lined pipes. In this work, a method combining spray coating with vacuum-assisted resin infusion was developed to fabricate CFRP hybrid composites with preferred in-plane aligned graphene nanoplatelets. Tensile and flexural properties, as well as CO2 gas permeability, were evaluated. It was illustrated that both tensile and flexural properties performed better under relatively low GNP loadings (< 0.2 vol%), while gas barrier property was significantly improved with the increasing GNP loadings which fits the Nielsen model with an effective GNP aspect ratio of 350. Graphical abstract